Sword of Dawn

Chapter 0235 The Change of the Door

Hearing Gawain's answer, Tire blinked. She didn't speak, but motioned for Gawain to continue.

After all, she doesn't know much about the human world—although the sea monster seems to observe the situation on the mainland from time to time, and the information is not closed, but Tire himself is obviously not the kind of character who cares about news from foreign races.

"You should know what happened on this continent 700 years ago," Gawain sighed, and first roughly explained the current technological chronology of mankind. "At that time, the Gondor Empire was the most advanced country on the continent, but the Great Blue Well The explosion led to a great decline in our technology—and due to the irreproducibility of the Deep Blue Well and the annihilation of all high-end talents in the ancient empire, our technology decline is far beyond your imagination. What we have declined is not only technology, but also Including social structure and people's level of thinking. Today, the level of production technology in all human countries is still as you said. A few craftsmen and magicians make some handmade products in their own workshops or laboratories. , the ideas of industrial mass production can be said to be blank.”

After a short pause, Gao Wen continued: "Cecil Territory is the only place currently trying to establish an industrial system—I don't know if you can understand the word 'industrial system' I coined in the common language of mankind. , all in all, I hope to establish a brand-new production and development model. I hope to popularize the convenient power of 'magic' and become a tool that everyone can use instead of the privilege of a few. On this basis, great technological progress has been achieved, and technological progress has been used to promote the transformation of production models. I hope to use the power of tools and wisdom to mass-produce industrial products, just like the rune substrates produced on the machine assembly line in front of you. .”

As he spoke, he paid attention to the changes in Tier's expression—he saw that the careless expression on the face of the siren lady finally faded away. Tier was listening carefully, and his eyes became extraordinarily focused, with beautiful hair. The end of her long blue hair even emits shimmering particles. Maybe this is a sign of her being in a happy mood?

After Gawain finished speaking for a while, Tire blinked and asked seriously: "After this?"

"Sufficient living materials will change our society, the way people get along with each other, social relations, as well as the law and class system on top of that, will all change," Gao Wen said frankly, "There is no doubt , that's what I'm after."

"Interesting...you are more interesting than I imagined..." Tier swung his long snake tail and arched around Gawain (to be honest, if the walking posture of this salty fish spirit could not be so embarrassing, she would at least have a B character) can rise twice as high), "Your thinking surpasses your compatriots, even your compatriots in the so-called 'advanced' empire more than 700 years ago. I probably know something about that 'Empire of Gondor', which is indeed a very A powerful human empire with advanced magic technology, but that is only an illusion supported by a natural energy pool. For a long time, various civilizations on this continent—even including the still powerful silver elf civilization— It’s unbelievable that they are all behind, the abundant resources and convenient magical environment on this continent have nurtured you, and they have also severely restrained your thoughts, but... there is such a different kind of you on this continent..."

Tyre squeezed his chin, and lightly made a rather unfavorable evaluation of all the kingdoms on the entire continent. However, Gawain knew that she was fully qualified to make such an evaluation given the other party's level of civilization. This was objective and It is true, and the more pleasing point is that he can roughly infer the development route of the sea monster from Tyre's attitude-it is probably the same as himself.

They should have also embarked on the path of using technology to promote the development of productive forces and liberating productive forces to promote social progress.

"I have experienced a glorious and developed era, and I have seen what an advanced civilization looks like with my own eyes. I once led a group of people to strive to expand their territory in the wilderness, hoping to rebuild that glorious civilization," Gao Wen said lightly. He breathed a sigh of relief, flipped through the memories from Gawain Cecil, and flipped through his own memories from the earth, and sighed from the bottom of his heart, "Then I slept for 700 years, and when I woke up, I found Instead of returning to its glory, this society has become more backward, more decayed, and more corrupt... I can't bear this kind of backwardness and decay, so I naturally want to do something, even if it's just to make my life more comfortable. Let society develop."

"I agree, many advances in technology are just to make myself sleep more comfortably." Tire happily shook the tip of his tail, and suddenly asked another question, "But don't worry if one day magic really spreads. When everyone, even ordinary people, can use magic to rebel against the ruler, will your rule be threatened?"

Gawain couldn't help laughing when he heard this: "If most of the people are forced to the point where they want to use fireball to blow up their lord, then this lord should have died long ago. I always firmly believe in one thing: if a A monarch or lord can only rule his own people by means of violence and oppression, so his rule is not rule at all, because any jackal, tiger or leopard can do the same thing as him.

"As for the consequences of popularizing magic... maybe new contradictions will arise, but I believe its benefits will far outweigh the risks. Technology develops through popularization. If you want to get more talents, you must More people must have access to these technologies, so that the learning and research of technologies has no threshold or a very low threshold, so that enough researchers can be produced under the huge population base, and the truth of the world can be truly revealed. Secrets, not as it is now, only a few talented people can use magic, and their research is all wasted on maintaining dignity and improving personal strength... In this way, even if 100 million years pass, there will only be a few more giants in the world. It’s just magicians. As long as a wave of demons comes over, even if these great magicians survive, human civilization will still be gone. Then these great magicians will go to the deep mountains and wild forests to live like savages with wild beasts. Is it?"

Tyre stared at Gawain for a while, then turned her head to look at the machines that were banging and casting runes. The tip of her tail slapped the factory floor unconsciously. After a long time, she suddenly lost her head. I said in my head: "It would be great if you could wake up a few years earlier..."

"What?" Gao Wen heard it, but he didn't understand what it meant, "Why did you just wake up a few years ago?"

"The Great Demonic Tide is indeed approaching." Tyr turned his head suddenly and stared into Gawain's eyes seriously. "The Demonic Tide will cause devastating damage to all civilizations. Because we sea monsters are elemental creatures, we are naturally resistant to the Demonic Tide." There is a certain resistance, so you can survive many times, but you human beings of flesh and blood cannot escape the 'material reshaping' in this process.

"We have always had a conjecture: if the magic tide is a natural phenomenon, then any natural phenomenon should have rules to follow and principles that can be studied in depth, but due to some of our own...'particularities', our sea Yao has not found out what the underlying principles and laws are until now, but we believe that this line of thinking is correct...

"The technological progress you are seeking and the way of exploring the truth are in line with our conjecture. I think the route you are taking may be correct, but... I am worried that you woke up too late."

Gao Wen didn't know what expression to make on his face, and many words finally turned into an awkward and stiff smile, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly: "Don't you think it's shocking to say these words directly?"

"We sea monsters are used to talking straight to the point," Tyre said calmly, "and I'm used to being pessimistic first—you can look at it optimistically. After all, I also said that the cycle of the magic tide is not so accurate. Maybe it will be postponed for 800 years this time, you or your descendants will figure out the technology to resist the magic tide, or if you make a big improvement in technology, it is not impossible to understand the principle of the magic tide in two years possible."

Gao Wen twitched the corner of his mouth: "...you are being too optimistic when you say that, I might as well expect that there really is an omnipotent Creator in this world. Civilization has lived forever."

"Who knows," Tyr shrugged his shoulders (and the tip of his tail), "sometimes the progress of civilization is unreasonable and illogical. Falling from the peak to the abyss overnight, but as long as you are alive, you have to have some hope, we sea monsters believe in one thing, that is, as long as you are alive, there is always something worth looking forward to in life."

Gawain looked at this self-proclaimed pessimistic siren in surprise, always felt that her words contained deep meaning, but when he looked carefully again, Tire's face returned to that careless and lazy look.

She turned around and continued to observe the operation of the machines curiously. Gao Wen smiled and followed to prevent the seafood from affecting the work of the workers in the rune foundry.

But at this moment, there was a loud noise outside the factory gate. Gawain frowned and saw a lightly armed Cecil combat soldier rushing in.

The soldier trotted all the way to Gao Wen, gave a hasty military salute, panted heavily and said quickly, "My lord, there is movement at the door...the door!"

"Door?" Gao Wen frowned, "Don't be so rambunctious, catch your breath, and explain what's going on."

The soldier quickly adjusted his state, took a deep breath and reported: "It's the circular magic gate at the bottom of the ancient facility. The soldiers guarding the gate reported that it is changing! It seems to be activated!"

"That door activated by itself?!" Even Gao Wen was dumbfounded this time, he thought for a moment, and then ordered, "Go and inform Hetty, um, and Pittman, and let them come over immediately."

Then he turned his head to look at Tyre: "You go back first..."

"Farewell, I'd better go with you to have a look," Tire immediately wagged his tail, "every day I heard you mention that there is an ancient facility in the mountain, what kind of crystallization of technology from the Gondor Empire, etc., I became curious—— —but I won’t go if the place is classified.”

Gawain looked at Tire, hesitated a little, but finally nodded: "Alright, if you want to follow, come along, maybe your knowledge can be useful."

He thought of the fact that the ruins in the mountain had once studied the flesh and blood of gods. If the door at the bottom of the ruins leads to a place related to gods, then Tyre, a deep-sea god who dared to devour the flesh and blood of gods, might have some effect... ...At least you can be an appraiser, right?

Chapter 0236 Deep Space

The ruins in the mountains, the "Circular Might and Magic Gate" hall on the bottom floor of the facility.

Since discovering this mysterious ancient magic gate, Gawain has left six soldiers here to take care of it in shifts—as Byron knights explored this ancient facility more and more deeply, this relic has gradually been taken over by Cecil. The collar has been used, and now its middle-level area is being gradually transformed into military factories and storage facilities. Many places have laid magic nets, installed magic spar lamps and living facilities, and added many long-term soldier dormitories, so There are not a few soldiers on duty for a long time in the facility.

Gawain brought Heidi and Pittman with him, plus a siren full of "knowledge of the evil god" (eating direction) skill points, and selected a group of elite soldiers, and rushed to the place where the magic gate was located .

A small group of garrison soldiers had gathered in the wide circular hall. Knight Byron was leading his subordinates to watch the movement of Might and Magic. When Gawain came in, the middle-aged knight was holding a soldier seriously. Asking about things eagerly - it was not easy to see such a serious expression on the old fritter's face, which made Gawain immediately realize that the situation might be more complicated than he expected.

He went straight to Byron: "How is the situation?"

After seeing Gawain, Byron gave a knightly salute—he was leading the exploration team to find the exit to the south of the mountain ruins, but immediately brought people to the scene after hearing the news of Might and Magic Gate's change, Bi Gao Wen arrived a lot earlier, so he understands the situation fairly well: "My lord, we haven't figured out how the magic door was suddenly activated. The soldiers on duty here seem to have suffered a mental shock, and their memory of the scene at that time is very vague. .”

Gawain raised his head and looked in the direction of the circular magic door - that thing was indeed activated.

The ring-shaped device made of some unknown synthetic material is emitting a glowing dark blue magical halo at this moment, and the runes and magic power lines engraved on the Might and Magic Gate are all in a clearly charged state, a low buzzing sound The sound was coming from the base of the ring, and in the center of the ring, one could see a group of constantly trembling hazy phantoms that seemed to be in a superposition state of two spaces.

The soldiers stationed here are elites with rich experience and obedience to orders. They will not tamper with anything without orders, nor will they deliberately conceal when reporting the situation, so the only explanation is that this Might and Magic Gate is really It is activated by itself, and when it is activated, it will cause a certain degree of mental shock to the people around it-it is not fatal, but it is enough to cause a trance.

What activates Might and Magic?

Gao Wen immediately thought of the isolation doors that opened automatically in the entrance hall of the ruins. Similar incidents also happened in the early days of the establishment of the pioneering territory, but the reason for the opening of the isolation doors at that time was the surge of magic power, and the sudden change of the magic environment stimulated The remaining magic mechanism in the ruins opened the door by accident, but it seems that there has been no similar magic turmoil recently, and there has been no report from the monitoring satellite...

No, it seems that there is a rather special event...

The stars return.

Gao Wen's expression became serious. The only event that may cause various anomalies in the recent period is the "return of the stars". Although ordinary people cannot perceive the impact of the return of the stars on this world, its influence is It really exists, and it seems to be related to God.

The purpose of this ancient facility seems to be to study "the secrets of the gods".

Could it be that this gate was not actually closed due to damage or energy exhaustion, but has been waiting for the opportunity to open?

"Ancestor?" Seeing that Gao Wen hadn't spoken for a long time, but his face became more and more serious, Hetty couldn't help asking, "What did you think of?"

"This door may be automatically activated according to the pre-set orders of the magisters of the Starfire era," Gawain said slowly, and looked at Knight Byron, "Has anyone ever gone in?"

"Not yet," Knight Byron shook his head. "The situation is too weird. You told me at the time that if you encounter such a situation that is too bizarre or may be related to God, you must not act rashly and keep the scene until you arrive."

"Very good," Gawain nodded approvingly, and then looked at the automatic magic door with some regret, "It would be great if Amber was here..."

Amber was sent by him to search for "viable folks" and has yet to return. Although it is not clear how she is progressing, Gawain has full confidence in the wild half-elf whose escape skills are full, but it will inevitably be inconvenient if the other party is not there. For example, now, he really wants to find a recyclable amber detector and throw it across the magic door to see the situation-but there is no such thing.

But the magic door has been activated, he can't just leave it like this.

"Pittman..." Gawain thought for a while, then turned to look at the old druid beside him, "You..."

"My lord, I'm getting old!" Pittman burst into tears immediately, "I have to raise my [-]s, and I have..."

Gao Wen's veins twitched: "Shut up, I'll let you summon a tree man to enter!"

"Oh."

Pittman took out a magical seed from his bosom, chanted a brief incantation in a low voice, and then threw the seed on the ground. With the surge of magic power, the seed immediately began to grow at an astonishing speed Standing up, the magical power built its temporary body, and an elemental tree man with a height of only a meter or so soon appeared in front of everyone.

In the eyes of everyone, this unremarkable tree man ran towards the huge ring device in the center of the hall with ridiculous steps, and disappeared into the hazy area inside the ring device in a burst of light and shadow distortion. In the phantom.

The moment the tree man disappeared, Pittman let out a "huh" in surprise.

"What's going on?" Hetty immediately asked nervously.

"The spiritual connection between me and the summoned creature was severed," Pittman said with a strange expression, "in an instant."

"The other side of Might and Magic may be some kind of phase space, or the Shadow Realm." Gawain was not too surprised. "The magisters of the ancient Gondor Empire often did this. They would use similar space technology to store important data. Secrets, Phase Space, and the Shadowlands are the safest safes."

"No...it's not like that kind of cutting off," Pittman said with a serious expression, "Even the Shadow Realm can't completely cut off the connection between druids and summoned objects, even if the direct control is cut off." , I can also sense the existence of the summoned thing, but now I have completely lost the perception of the treant, as if it disappeared directly from this world..."

The atmosphere in the hall became serious, but Pittman then said: "But we can wait a little longer, I set an order for the tree man, if the spiritual connection is completely broken, then it will lose my order for 3 minutes. Then go back the way you came—as long as it's not destroyed."

Gawain nodded upon hearing this, turned around and stared in the direction of the Might and Magic Gate.

Time passed by, and there was no movement in the magic gate, but just when Gawain thought that the tree man would not come back, he suddenly saw the hazy light and shadow in the center of the magic gate tremble.

The unremarkable Treant ran out of the gate with that comical staggering gait.

It looked clumsy and dazed when it first ran out, but soon, it re-established a spiritual connection with Pittman, and the elemental creature maintained by magic power immediately ran back to its master.

"...There is no damage," Pittman quickly checked the condition of the treant, and raised his head to report to Gao Wenhui, "The degree of magic power dissipation is also within the normal value, and the opposite side of the gate seems to be a safe space, and the structure is also very stable. "

"In other words, you can go in and check the situation," Gawain couldn't help but exhale, "It seems that the technology of the ancient Gondor Empire is still trustworthy. Heidi, Tyre, you two go in with me to check the situation, Byron, Pittman, you two stand guard outside."

After finishing the order, Gawain selected a batch of capable soldiers, and then led them to the ancient magic gate that was quietly operating in the center of the hall.

In the process of passing through the hazy light and shadow in the center of the gate, Gawain did not feel the severe dizziness he expected. The thousand-year-old magic gate was running more smoothly than he had imagined. He only felt It was as if I walked through a cool mist, and after a brief blurred vision, the scene in front of me was already the space behind the gate.

A wide rectangular hall appeared in front of the exploration team.

This hall is made of unknown synthetic materials. As far as the eye can see, you can see all kinds of huge equipment with unknown functions. There are also wide walkways and research platforms among the equipment. What surprised Wen was that it wasn't pitch black here—even though this place had been sealed off for perhaps a thousand years, it still had residual energy!Several lighting devices at the top of the hall are still in operation, a slightly yellowish light illuminates the entire space!

Not only the lighting facilities, but also a small part of the huge equipment in the hall is still activated, the magic runes on their surfaces are still shining, and a low humming sound can be heard from a certain equipment from time to time.

"This is really...unbelievable..." Hetty looked at the scene in front of her in astonishment, "The things here are still working?!"

Gao Wen clenched the long sword in his hand: Since the explosion of the dark blue magic power well, all the complex magic devices in the ancient Gondor Empire have lost their function, and even if they are still intact, they cannot be activated. Only the magic power gate can still work. It's just a simple device with a simple structure and low energy requirements, but it's really weird that these complex and sophisticated devices are still operating here.

"Everyone, be vigilant, the magic device here is still working, and it cannot be ruled out that the ancient automatic defense device is being activated," he reminded everyone in the team loudly, "Hetty, pay attention to the magic power around you at all times. Flow, tell me immediately if there is a sharp change in the energy response."

"Yes," Heidi clenched her long staff, and while responding, she frowned and glanced at the hall that has been closed until now, "Ancestor...is this hall still located in our main material world?"

"It's hard to say, but the environment here is obviously not the Shadow Realm," Gao Wen replied, "It's just... I don't know if the environment outside the hall is the same as inside."

Chapter 0237 Doomsday Shelter

The space opposite the Might and Magic Gate—or this part of the hidden facilities—was even bigger than Gawain had imagined.

There is not only a hall that everyone saw at first, after the soldiers expanded their search area, they soon discovered that there was a surrounding corridor structure outside the hall, and rooms arranged outside the corridor.

The furnishings in these rooms are complete, and all kinds of living or research appliances, including tables, chairs, and equipment, are well kept in place, instead of being removed like the rooms outside.

"The things here have not been removed." Hetty looked at a room that had just been opened. This room seemed to be a place for many people to gather and eat. There were long tables and chairs in the room, and the corners could still be seen. Neatly arranged sinks—it's just that there is no longer any water flowing in the sinks, "and the preservation of these things... is much better than outside."

"The entire facility seems to have been subjected to a large-scale magical effect, and the rate of decay of all items has become extremely slow," Gawain looked down at a long table at hand. There were mottled rust spots on the long table, but the table itself Still solid and in good condition, "...with a fair amount of corrosion."

Till walked among the long tables with arches and arches, brushing her fingers over the dusty tabletop, and said thoughtfully: "This place feels as if it is ready to be reactivated at any time—— As long as someone comes back here, they can start living immediately."

Gawain didn't say a word, but walked silently between the rusty long tables. At this moment, a group of soldiers who went to explore the way ahead suddenly returned to this room, and the leader came to Gawain. In front: "My lord! We found a warehouse in front!"

"Take me over there."

Gao Wen soon arrived at the warehouse discovered by the soldiers, and he couldn't help frowning at the scene in the warehouse.

This is the place where materials are piled up. In the warehouse, you can still see neatly stacked pallets and various signages whose handwriting can no longer be seen clearly. The cargo has been disassembled.

A large number of wooden boxes were pried open, and empty boxes and jars were piled up in various places. Some were neatly stacked, but some were simply scattered all over the room. Apart from these messy "packaging", There is no useful material here.

"This..." Seeing the scene in the warehouse, Hetty immediately clenched her staff tightly. She subconsciously looked at Gawain, "Ancestor, this..."

"Someone took the supplies here!" Gao Wen said the only possibility, "Someone has been active here—at least during the initial period after this facility was blocked, there were still people active here!"

"How is it possible!?" Hetty was taken aback. "Didn't this place be abandoned and sealed off 1000 years ago? Didn't everyone evacuate?"

"I thought so too, but look at these materials that have been completely consumed - if they were consumed before the facility was closed, the logistics manager would not have allowed the warehouse to become like this," Gao Wen pointed at the messy piles. Empty boxes and cans, "this is clearly the result of continued consumption after the closure of the facility, and probably for a long time."

Hetty couldn't help swallowing: "This...is really disturbing..."

Thiel asked a question: "Where are they now, if there are still people here after the facility is closed?"

Gao Wen shook his head: "I don't know, but if all the people working here are humans...then no human can live for 1000 years."

Soon, the soldiers discovered more material warehouses, and most of the warehouses had been consumed by people—only a few things remained, and judging from the thick dust on the sealed boxes, They have been neglected for many years.

Even with the protection of magical power, these materials cannot be stored for thousands of years. Even if the packaging is intact, the contents inside have already rotted and deteriorated, so Gawain only briefly checked these things before losing interest in them.

After inspecting the corridor outside the hall, a group of people arrived at the end of the corridor, where the roads converge, and an upward-sloping staircase extends from the intersection of the corridors to the upper floor of the secret facility.

"It seems that there is still a structure on it." Hetty looked up at the dark space at the end of the stairs. This ancient facility has an astonishing energy system, but no matter how advanced the energy system is, it cannot completely resist the erosion of time. The light was obviously dimmer than the lower floor. It seemed that there was something wrong with the energy supply. The light was not only dim but also very unstable. Hetty summoned a Mage Eye to go up. After a while, she nodded, "There is no danger up there."

The exploration team advanced along the stairs and soon reached the upper floor of this hidden facility. At the end of the stairs, a thick metal door blocked their way.

"The magic lock on the door has failed." Hetty quickly found the magic mechanism that controlled the locked state of the door. Several dim runes were engraved in the center of the door, but these runes had no response to external magic stimulation. , "Now it is an ordinary iron door, which can be directly destroyed."

The two soldiers immediately stepped forward and aimed their thermal energy ray guns at the lock in the center of the gate. After several consecutive bombardments with scorching rays, the magic mechanism in the center of the door was directly melted: without magic protection, the advanced ancient magic mechanism It's just a piece of metal with a not so high melting point.

Gawain put his hand on the door, and relying on the powerful strength of the legendary knight, he directly pushed open the door that originally required a magic device to push open.

creak-

Accompanied by the ear-piercing sound of metal rubbing, the ancient gate with a history of thousands of years slowly opened to both sides, and a stale breath leaked from the space inside the gate, but a piece of slightly cool water mist suddenly appeared out of thin air. Appearing and surrounding everyone, isolating all these potentially harmful breaths.

Gawain glanced back, and saw Tire waving his hand nonchalantly, while the power of water element flowed quietly between her fingers.

He didn't tell Miss Kraken that every soldier's armor has a long-lasting "breeze shield" effect, but smiled and thanked Tyre for his kindness, and then walked through the gate.